Marketing on a Shoestring

Let's face it. if you're in business today then looking at getting the best return for every dollar is something we all have to do. Much of the marketing money that businesses spend has come under scrutiny and it's about time.

Mark Stevens, Author of one of my favourite marketing books Your Marketing Sucks says:

"Marketing is not about spending money on things such as advertising, direct mail, and PR. Those are just tools. Marketing is about growing your business - its revenue, its profit and valuation."

If you think of your marketing in terms of which 'tools' you spend your money on then think again. Marketing for most businesses is now about generating good quality leads or prospects that become wonderful clients.

The good news is many of the most effective marketing tools are virtually free and often go under the radar. They may not give you a nice warm feeling or put your name up in lights but they can be directly linked to sales, can save you money, and done well, will lead to great customers. They do however take some effort and commitment, and because of this you can safely assume most of your competitors won't bother!

The hottest tip first - How to spend less on marketing

Most marketers won't tell you this but often when you stop some of your marketing you will see no difference! Except the money you will save. The trick is to know what to stop, what to continue with and what new things to do. If you stop altogether then you are likely to get into trouble so choose carefully.

Start by reviewing how much you spend on marketing and the results you are getting.

Measure where your leads are coming from by listing all the marketing you are currently doing (free and at a cost) then track which ones are generating you the best leads. This is not necessarily the most leads - but those that convert to sales the easiest and are great customers to have. After a period of time you should have a clear indication of what is working and what is not. Stop all those that are not working. Of course you could always phone your customers and ask them where and how they heard about you. You can do this in conjunction with the next point too..

An easiest place to start for more sales - for free.

This one will cost you nothing. Start with a blank piece of paper or a simple word document. Make a list of all the people your business knows. These could be friends, family, customers, suppliers, prospects of yourself and your staff. If you have a database already then this job is so much easier!

Go through your list and highlight the people that are a good fit with your business and who you would like as customers;

• people who have bought from you in the past and should buy from you again.
• people who have talked about buying from you and have just never got around to it.
• people who said they knew others who would be interested in what you sell.
• people who you know but you have never offered your services to.

Note that you need to list the people, not the companies. All sales are done between people and even if you sell to very large corporates, it still comes back to the relationships and trust you can build with the key people. Also remember that the single best way to grow any business is by making it easier for your current customers to buy from you again. These people know you. Know your services, and hopefully value you and what you do. They will decide quicker.

Next you need to contact each one. For those who you know pick up the phone. It may be obvious but people just don't do it. It doesn't need to be a hard sales call. It can be as simple asa courtesy call or you can be completely up front and tell them that you are working out who are likely to be your customers over the next month or year, and you were just wondering where they were at in terms of your services and products. Being this up front can cut through a lot of guessing and wasted time and effort. People appreciate it too. If you are looking for another angle consider doing a quick survey on them and get some feedback on their experience of your services recently and ask some questions about their plans for the near future. Just by talking (and more importantly, listening) you will learn something and you may even get a good prospect or sale out of it. At worst you will have contacted a potential customer or even a friend.

Four shoestrings to new customers

1. Direct mail
Create a list of the people who you don't know and who should buy your products or services.

The telephone call works well if you have some cold calling skills but if not then look to another traditional and almost free tool - a snail mail posted personal letter. Follow this up with a polite telephone call. Once you have written your letter then it is only the cost of the stamp, envelope and piece of paper. You can't really get a much cheaper shoestring! You can find out more about how to write a great direct mail letter in The Nuts and Bolts of Direct Mail Lettersin mymarketingexpert or you can get our very popular handbook by the same name atwww.mymarketingexpert.co.nz

2. Database marketing
Marketing on a shoestring is all about reaching people directly. To make this easy, inexpensive and effective you will need to have a current, accurate and flexible customer database. This will cost you a little to set up but there are very low cost options available online or you can purchase something purpose built for less than $500. It is a no brainer when it comes to spending some of your marketing budget.

3. Networking
Meeting people through traditional and the more trendy online networking forums can be very cost effective. Many networking options are free and even if not the cost is nominal. If you select the right places, groups and even times of day you can meet many new people and get introduced to exactly the right potential people.

4. Publicity
Offering credible, news worthy stories about your business or industry can get you a huge amount of exposure with your potential customers at no cost. The trick with getting free articles and editorials about your business is to have a strong news angle that will be of value to the editor of the publications and of interest to their readers. Don't just think about traditional printed newspapers and magazines but look wider at online publications, newsletters, websites.

Article Source: My Marketing Expert

Greg Longstaff
Business Development Consultant
Franchise Network Specialist
greg@salesmarket.co.nz
+64 9.307.7860

Risk and Reward Getting paid 101

Produce, sell, invoice, collect. What a simple process business trading can be. Many businesses have excellent systems in place for the first three aspects of trading, but fall down badly when it comes to getting paid by their debtors. Here are some helpful hints for getting debtors’ money into your bank account.

Prior to making the sale:

•  Engage your customers and ensure they are familiar with and sign your terms of trade, which for larger transactions should include a personal guarantee and an authorisation for credit checking
•  Ensure your quotes are detailed and accurate and allow for any extras to be authorised. Develop quality control systems which prevent poor product or service delivery
• Clarify with customers how and when payment is expected

After delivery of your product or service:

• Send accurately detailed invoices promptly, restating the duedate for payment
• Promptly follow up any customer issues, avoiding the likelihood of a dispute
• Contact customers immediately if payment is not received on due date

What next if you have a satisfied customer who just refuses to pay?  We put this to an experienced fellow of the Credit Institute of New Zealand.  Here’s what he had to say:
1. If phone or email contact has been unsuccessful, write to the debtor advising that if the invoice is not paid within 7 days the account will be referred to a debt collector.
2. Be true to your word and don’t pussy foot around.  Take a strong stance and refer the debt for collection by a reputable agency.
3. The debt collector will take you through the process, which may include a number of legal remedies depending upon the debtor’s legal structure and the nature of the goods or services supplied.
Often the threat of legal action will frighten the debtor into paying up, so don’t be shy in demanding payment in this way.
Remember also that great debt collectors are very experienced at getting blood out of a stone.  Unless you or your staff have the experience and passion for collecting money, it’s unlikely you’ll get the same result.

DisclaimerThis post has been carefully prepared, but it has been written in general terms only. The publication should not be relied upon to provide specific information without also obtaining appropriate professional advice after detailed examination of your particular situation.

Article Source: Accounting North

Greg Longstaff
Business Development Consultant
Franchise Network Specialist
greg@salesmarket.co.nz
+64 9.307.7860

Marketing works better when you have the numbers to back it up

by Lisa Kember⁴,  Constant Contact Regional Development Director, Southern Ontario

As a marketer, small business owner, or nonprofit manager, you're likely obsessed with numbers. Usually those numbers have to do with sales, donations, event attendees, or operating costs. But there are other ways to gauge how successful (or not) a marketing program has been.
Email marketing and social media offer a wealth of options and success metrics. It's one reason why both have grown in popularity in recent years. After all, you can see how many people open an email, but you can't see how many people open an envelope.
Here are 5 ways to get data that will tell you how successful you are in your various marketing efforts, and how that data can contribute to your bottom-line results:
1. Email metrics Conventional email metrics, like open rate and click-through rate⁵, can instantly tell you whether your subscribers are opening and engaging with your message, so you can easily tell how effectively you've captured people's attention and prompted them to act. And you can compare your results to others too: Average open rates⁶ range from 17% to 28%, depending on industry and type of organization. So if you're a business-to-business organization and you're getting a 38% open rate, you know you're doing well.
2. Shares These days, knowing how far beyond subscribers' inboxes your email went is becoming a critical metric to measure. It's all well and good for one person to click on the links in an email, but if the content was so compelling that the person felt the need to share it on social media, then that extends the reach of your message even further. Constant Contact's email reports⁷ display the number of shares your emails get, and even say where your messages were shared (on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or someplace else). Of course, you won't get any sharing data if you don't enable your emails to be shared, so make sure to turn on the Social Share bar⁸ the next time you send a campaign.
3. Follower count While the number of Twitter followers you have is only half the equation⁹ (the other half being what you do with those followers), measuring your growth in audience¹⁰ is a significant metric to track over time. Follower count is not going to skyrocket overnight, but if you note the number of people who follow you each month, you'll likely see growth on a consistent basis.
4. Facebook Insights Yes, Facebook seems easy to measure because you can see how many fans, likes, and comments you get. But you can learn so much more about how well you're doing on Facebook by taking advantage of the site's free Page Insights analytics tool¹¹, which tells Page admins information such as demographics and how many people are visiting the Page during a selected time period. Facebook Insights can also tell you how many new "Likes" you got over a period of time, and where those new Likes came from, which can help you better spread the word about your Page to new fans.
5. Klout An increasingly important metric is your Klout score¹², which measures your online influence. The score is a quick, numerical rating of that influence, based on everything from comments to shares to number of Twitter followers. While there's debate about the validity of Klout scores¹³, some people look at the number to determine the credibility of a business or organization, especially when it comes to social media expertise. For you, a high Klout score could lead to more speaking opportunities. And having customers with high Klout scores opens the door to greater word of mouth marketing.
While sales or donations may be the final determination of how successful your business or organization is, these other metrics  can help you gauge how well you're doing in the meantime

Article Source: Constant Contact

Greg Longstaff
Business Development Consultant
Franchise Network Specialist
greg@salesmarket.co.nz
+64 9.307.7860